(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an iron/copper/chromium alloy material for a high-strength lead frame of a semiconductor IC and LSI or for a pin grid array, which has an excellent heat conductivity and electric conductivity and is produced at a low cost, and a process for the preparation thereof.
(2) Description of the Related Art
An iron alloy (Kovar alloy) containing 26 to 30% by weight of nickel and 11 to 16% by weight of cobalt, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-198741, and an iron alloy containing 30 to 55% by weight of nickel (42% Ni alloy is a typical composition) disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-111447, are used as a lead frame material for semiconductor IC's or LSI's, because these alloys are compatible with a glass sealing material or Si with regard to the thermal expansion characteristics thereof. Furthermore, copper and copper alloys have gradually come to be used for IC's where a high heat conductivity and electric conductivity are required.
Namely, the above-mentioned Kovar alloy or 42Ni alloy has an excellent strength and heat resistance, but a poor heat conductivity, electric conductivity and processability, and a high cost. Accordingly, to cope with the recently increasing requirements for a heat-radiating property, which are due to the increase of the integration degree of IC's, a cheap copper alloy having an excellent heat conductivity, electric conductivity, and processability is used instead of the above-mentioned alloys.
Since an iron/copper alloy has an excellent electric conductivity and abrasion resistance, the alloy is often used for a sliding contact element or the like, and a copper/iron/chromium alloy in which the poor corrosion resistance of the iron/copper alloy is strengthened by an incorporation of chromium is known, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 49-91025.
In general, copper alloys have a poor heat resistance and strength, and accordingly, these defects are eliminated by an addition of tin, iron, silicon, phosphorus, and cobalt, as, for example, in the CA-195 alloy and an alloy disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-218442. The cost, however, is increased by the addition of these elements, and further, the heat conductivity and electric conductivity are reduced thereby.
Moreover, the iron/copper/chromium alloy is defective in that the alloy is separated into an iron/chromium phase and a copper phase, which have greatly different surface characteristics such as soldering and plating properties.